What your shopping habits reveal

You have no idea how many times a day fellow Whoa, Momma! blogger Sherry Robinson rolls her eyes at me or lets out a long, sad sigh. She pities me for my failures to jump on that "buy one, get one" offer that she's trying to school me on, but I'd rather scrub gunk off my shoe than browse a store.

It wasn't until we read this quiz on the Happiness Project's Web site that we found a name for what separates us. I am a classic under buyer and Sherry is a textbook over buyer.

It says you are an over buyer if you

Buy several summer outfits for your as-yet-unborn baby, then it turns out he outgrows those clothes before the weather warms up.

You often lay in huge supplies of items like shampoo or cough medicine.

You often make a purchase, such as a tool or tech gadget, with the thought, “This will probably come in handy.”

You have a long list of stores to visit before you travel.

You’re an under-buyer if..

You buy saline solution, which you use every morning and night, one bottle at a time.

You often scramble to buy an item like a winter coat or bathing suit after the point at which you need it.

You often consider buying an item, then decide, “I’ll get this some other time” or “Maybe we don’t really need this.”

They each have their stresses and advantages and we had a suspicion that our conversation on the subject is not original. So we've shared our over buying vs. under buying smackdown with the readers.

Sure enough, as the quiz notes, she has huge supplies of staples like shampoo or peanut butter while I'm racing to the store at midnight to buy toilet paper. She tries to stay ahead of the curve but it sometimes means storage gets a little cramped. I don't worry about the clutter but the amount of money I must spend by not grabbing a BOGO deal or buying winter jackets during the season.

The most interesting revelation, I think, is that both habits came out of our similar backgrounds. Growing up in a big family without much money stays with you for a lifetime.

About the bloggers

Raising children isn't easy. Whoa, Momma! is here to help you with parenting tips and discussion of all parenting issues. We think there's no such thing as TMI, so our blogging moms aren't shy about the hot topics and won't back away from a good debate. Bottle or breastfeed? Public, private or homeschool? And sex -- it's all open for comment. Don't sit on the sidelines -- pull up a bouncy seat and join the chat.